"It was a bad situation [in] that we couldn't communicate with employees," said Karen Hogan, Commerce's deputy chief information officer.

During the past three years, Commerce officials have worked to solve the problem. If an emergency were to threaten people at headquarters today, staff members would hear special alerts delivered via their phones.

Thanks to a new software application that runs in conjunction with the agency's voice-over-IP (VOIP) network, IP speaker phones emit emergency broadcasts. Since the application's introduction two years ago, Commerce officials have not had to use it for an emergency. Nevertheless, it's paying off in peace of mind, Hogan said.

The application, from Berbee Information Networks Corp., is one of a number of new tools that are helping take VOIP to a new level. Federal, state and local agencies are routinely adopting the new technology, which merges voice and data through a single IP network.

VOIP followers are discovering a new world of second-generation applications that surpass anything POTS

The Census Bureau hasn't established a time frame for its cloud computing plans, including testing for scalability, security, and privacy protection, as well as determining a budget for cloud services.